Convicted gang member resentenced in killing of 15-year-old ‘Junior’ Feliz
Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella was sentenced to 25 years to life with the possibility of parole for a second-degree murder charge.
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A convicted gang member was resentenced on Friday for killing 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman Feliz, who was fatally stabbed with a large knife and dragged out of a bodega back in 2018.
Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella was sentenced to 25 years to life with the possibility of parole for a second-degree murder charge.
The new sentencing came after the New York State Supreme Court tossed the first-degree murder conviction and wrote that prosecutors did not prove an essential element of the crime - that the defendant inflicted torture on Junior.
The defense attorney asked for a shorter sentence and pointed to tests that Estrella underwent, saying there was a language barrier during testing, his client has a low IQ, didn’t finish school, was left back twice and was 17 years old when he was in eighth grade.
Junior’s mother, Leandra Feliz, said she was hoping for a life sentence without parole, and that being back in the courtroom brought back so much pain.
“It’s very frustrating,” Feliz said. “Nobody knows what happened in my mind after I [went] to my house and [was] by myself, thinking about what they did to my son. And now they want to act like he’s crazy.”
The judge told the court, including Junior’s family, that legally she could not sentence Estrella to life without parole due to decisions made by the higher courts.
